Soot and Embers
by Memorian
Summary: After a fire consumes their home, Marble and Ash are left to fend for themselves in the forest. But danger is lurking, as tensions between the four clans rise and ShadowClan is wracked with a terrible sickness. StarClan has a plan, but many cats are questioning the starry cats' judgements and break from tradition.
1. Chapter 1: Fire

Just moments before, the fire had been confined to the pit and logs, just like it always had. It only took a spark to change all that. Now a thick black smoke was pouring into the room as fire ate away at the wooden walls of the cabin.

Fear flooded her body as the tortoiseshell she-cat gazed at the burning wall before her. The foul smell clogged her nostrils and filled her throat, threatening to suffocate her. But it wasn't Marble's life that flashed across her hazel eyes- it was a flash of worry for a tiny gray kit.

She whipped around, ears flattened and tail tucked against the unbearable heat. Her eyes stung and watered, but somehow she made out the tom's small form cowering under a nearby table. Marble bounded over and grabbed Ash by the scruff so suddenly that he squeaked. The she-cat had no time to be gentle with him; a collapsing, charred support beam served as a grim reminder of what could happen to them both.

Frantically now, Marble searched for an escape. The door that lead outside was closed and latched; the other consumed by fire. That left a single option.

Ash was coughing violently in her jaws as Marble leapt onto the windowsill. She felt the faintest breeze at her paws- the window was partially opened. The crackling of the cabin was growing louder now, threatening to consume both her and the kit. The she-cat slammed against the glass with her shoulder. It inched open, and she could feel the cool night air so tantalizingly close. Thick smoke began streaming around them, escaping into the open. She slammed into it again.

This time it swung open, so quickly that Marble lost her grip and she and Ash fell. She landed hard on her paws. A yowl and wince of pain made her drop the tom as her left forepaw burned white-hot. Painful as it was, she shook the remaining wood embers from between her pads. It took Marble a moment to register the fact that she had fallen onto a charred plank with glowing hot cinders.

A small cry that turned into a hacking cough forced her to forget about the useless paw. Ash was crawling back towards her; Marble was thankful that he hadn't fallen on the embers himself. She picked him up by the scruff of his neck again, and padded onward as best she could on three legs.

The herb garden surrounding the cabin was just starting to catch fire. Marble glanced at the top of the wooden fence. She could clear it easily…

The tortoiseshell hissed as her left foot brushed the ground painfully. There was no way she'd be able to jump the fence with her injured paw. Luckily, there was one other way that she knew of to escape- a space between two boards in the closest corner.

The air here was a mix of foul and sickeningly sweet, as the scent of burning thyme and sage mingled with that of the cabin. Her teeth clamped down on Ash's scruff- she refused to drop him again. The herbs grew thicker here to hide the gap in the fence; now the first flames were starting to catch on the rosemary and chervil. Marble shoved through the dense leaves of the latter, head bent low so that the lowest branches wouldn't smack the kit she was carrying.

Marble underestimated how quickly the fire could spread, as hot flames singed her fur and threatened to set her pelt alight. With more than a hint of desperation clawing inside her, and the heat bearing down, Marble scrambled through the gap and into the open field.

She didn't stop until she reached the closest hill, when the throbbing in her shoulder and leg was just too much to continue. Marble set Ash down in the cool grass gently. The air was not as thick with the smell of smoke, despite the dark clouds covering the stars. Most of the cabin had collapsed by now, hardly semblant of the twoleg dwelling it had once been. Her heart ached, already missing the cozy couches and beds and the smell of freshly picked herbs.

A wheezing cough interrupted her thoughts; Marble glanced down at Ash. She knew she'd have to find some herbs for that; the same way her twoleg used to treat her with herbs whenever she was sick. But all the herbs in the garden had burned away, and Marble didn't know where to find them in the wild.

Still, it was no use standing around looking at what was left of their home. Marble would not allow herself to feel relieved quite yet. The she-cat knew that she would be fine, despite her burns; she needed the same assurance for the kit as well.

Her hazel eyes met Ash's bright green ones. She blinked slowly at him._ I love you_. The small tom returned the gesture. Her tail flicked towards the stream in the distance. Certain plants, she knew, required more water than others, and the small river would be the best place to look for them, while cooling her own wounds.

Marble followed him forward, but the kit didn't make it very far before he was wracked by another raspy coughing fit. She licked the top of his head lovingly before picking him up, padding forward on her three good legs.


	2. Chapter 2: ShadowClan

Briarstar realized the second the sweet breeze hit his nostrils that he was dreaming. He knew that he was dreaming because he remembered retiring to his den that night, and he remembered how foul the air had smelled when he did- as if the forest were burning. But his territory had been left untouched by any flames, and so he was not concerned.

But this dreamy scent that hung in the air now smelled of stars, and that could only mean one thing. Bushy tail curled around his paws, he could only wait for his messenger to arrive. The tom wondered who it could be. Tinystar, the previous leader, had always been wise and- in Briarstar's opinion- always offered the best advice. Or perhaps Stripetail, his mother, would pay a visit. She was always checking up on him, was always the worrisome type. StarClan couldn't keep her from making the occasional appearance in his dreams even if they tried. A purr rose in his throat as he thought of her.

But when the air turned slightly fishy in scent, Briarstar narrowed his eyes. Rarely did cats from other clans deliver him messages, and RiverClan had always been civil towards ShadowClan. Why send a RiverClan cat with a message if not for bad news?

The cat that appeared he did not recognize: a sleek silver tom with the distinct RiverClan build- muscled, yet lithe and fluid. Briarstar's tail twitched, but he bowed his head in greeting all the same.

"Forget the formalities," the other cat huffed. Briarstar bit back a snide response as the other tom continued. "Listen and listen well, Briarstar. You _and_ your clan." The ShadowClan leader noticed that the tom was fading, and fading fast. "Your stubbornness will be the death of you all."

With those final words, the RiverClan cat was gone, and Briarstar was left with the words of the shortest and most threatening prophecy he had ever received ringing in his ears.

"Is that was passes for a prophecy these days?!" He shouted into the dark clearing. "Our stubbornness is how ShadowClan survives! It's how-"

He was rudely interrupted by his own waking. Fur prickling, Briarstar rose from his nest and shook the moss out of his pelt and slunk out of the narrow den. The thick smell of smoke still hung in the air as he padded through the camp, making his nose wrinkle. The leader hoped it would fade soon.

"Cinderfoot…" He mewed quietly, padding into the medicine cat's den. If there was anyone who could help him with a puzzling StarClan dream- even one as brief as this- it was his trusted medicine cat. He could make out the she-cat's form, curled up peacefully on her own cozy bed of moss. "Cinderfoot. I need to speak with you. StarClan has left me a message. I need your help."

There was no response. The grey she-cat hadn't moved at all since he arrived. Briarstar padded closer, pressing his nose to her flank. His stomach turned painfully. The medicine cat was cold, and carried the same peculiar smell that prey had.

She was dead.


End file.
